Clarkson University Electrical Engineering (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt

  • Bachelor's in Electrical, Electronics, and Communications Engineering
  • Private nonprofit university
  • Potsdam, NY
  • About 36 graduates a year

College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025

The short answer

Clarkson University electrical engineering graduates earn about what electrical engineering graduates earn nationally, $77,940 in their first year. The typical graduate leaves with $26,926 in federal loans, close to the national median of $25,000. Several New York programs report higher pay.

First-year earnings$77,94051st percentile of 247 programs nationally
Earnings after 5 years$98,81227% more than year one
Median federal debt$26,92615th lowest of 16 New York programs
Debt-to-earnings35%New York median 32%, national 32%

How it compares

Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The New York and national columns are the medians across all electrical engineering bachelor's programs that report the figure.

Five years out, Clarkson University graduates earn about the national figure and about the same as the New York median.

Debt and first-year pay at every New York electrical engineering program

Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the New York medians.

Clarkson UniversityOther New York programs

Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.

What graduates earn over time

Pay rises about 27% between the first and fifth year.

Clarkson University grads, year 1$77,940
Clarkson University grads, year 5$98,812
All New York electrical engineering grads, year 5$98,100

Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.

Does family income change the outcome?

Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned about the same in their first year as other graduates. At this program, the outcome does not look worse for students with less money.

Pell Grant recipients, year 1 earnings$77,343Median debt $27,500
Other graduates, year 1 earnings$79,268Median debt $25,188

Paying back the loans

On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $285 a month, or 4.4% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.

The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual. Separately, 27 parents took out Parent PLUS loans for these students, with a median of $54,416.

Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth

57% of graduates (38 of 67) were working in New York one year after graduating. Prices in the parts of New York outside metro areas are about 8% below the national average, so a $77,940 salary here buys what about $85,075 buys in a typical US city.

Careers this field leads to

These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to electrical engineering, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.

Architectural and Engineering Managers

$175,710

Median pay in New York. 8,250 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 14,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree, plus 5 years or more of related work experience.

Bottom 10%: $128,500Top 10%: $274,870

Electrical Engineers

$119,010

Median pay in New York. 8,770 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 10% from 2025 to 2035, with about 11,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $74,870Top 10%: $168,820

Electronics Engineers, Except Computer

$119,180

Median pay in New York. 2,220 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,900 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $81,840Top 10%: $174,950

Computer Hardware Engineers

$163,470

Median pay in New York. 3,020 people work in this job in New York. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 9% from 2025 to 2035, with about 4,100 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.

Bottom 10%: $101,530Top 10%: $224,490

About Clarkson University

Electrical Engineering ranks 3rd of 14 bachelor's programs at Clarkson University by first-year earnings. The top three are Computer Engineering ($80,942), Computer Science ($79,744), and Electrical Engineering ($77,940).

Common questions

The median graduate earns $77,940 one year after graduating and $98,812 five years after. The median across electrical engineering bachelor's programs in New York is $77,952.

About this data

  • Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
  • Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
  • Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
  • Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of New York comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
  • Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
  • School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the electrical engineering program.

Sources

  1. U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
  2. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
  3. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
  4. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
  5. NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024

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